DIY Farmhouse Coffee Table

I have been working on this table for so long. Which is ridiculous because it was pretty much the easiest thing ever. The only reason it took so long was because so many things came up (sick kids etc.) and I just put off working on it. Now that it’s done, I can’t wait to start another. While I love DIY furniture projects, I don’t have a lot of space to work on them since we’re still living in an apartment and there is less than no room. We’re working on buying a house but that is a post for another day. Today I want to show you all just how easy this DIY Farmhouse Coffee Table was to make.

This is actually more of table flip than a complete DIY project. I guess it’s kind of a ‘DIY table-top.’ We bought a really ugly coffee table at a thrift store for $10. I often visit thrift stores to see what they have and what new piece of furniture I can pick up on the cheap and then transform. I also created a post called ‘11 Things to Buy at a Thrift Store‘ that you can check out if you’re interested in other items I purchase at thrift stores. I wish I had taken a picture of the table so I could do a side-by-side before and after. But I did not. I just wasn’t planning on sharing it.

To get right to it, I will show you what I used, how I did it, and another picture of how it turned out. Here goes:

DIY “Ingredients” :

A second hand/thrift store wood coffee table

Paint–I used Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White and there was no need to prime

Annie Sloan Dark wax and Clear wax–you don’t have to use wax but I wanted a more antiqued look, so I did

A few paint brushes–I just used cheap generic brushes from Home Depot

Boards–I got mine from Home Depot but if you have some pallets or other boards lying around, you could use those too

Stain–I used Minwax Wood Finish in Dark Walnut

Sealant–I used Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish in Clear Satin

Nails

Wood Glue

Q-tips and lint-free fabric for waxing

Measuring tape

Note: The table top took a lot of measuring. We measured the original top and then measured the boards we ended up getting to make sure everything would fit just right. Once it was time to attach the new table top, we had to measure again on all sides to make sure everything was even.

Steps:

The first thing I did was remove the top of the table. It easily came unscrewed with a screw driver, then looked like this:

The next thing I did was wipe it down and make sure any and all dirt/dust was removed, then dried it with a towel.

Then I got right to it and started painting. I love Annie Sloan chalk paint because it’s so easy to use and you don’t have to prime. I did, however, use two coats of paint.

I even enlisted a little helper.

I waited a day for the paint to dry but it really only takes a few hours until you can wax/distress. I lightly distressed with a fine-grit sanding sponge and then applied dark wax in the grooves of the table using q-tips. Dark wax is very dark and can be hard to remove so you want to make sure you only apply a very small amount–a little goes a long way. If you do apply too much, go over it will clear wax and you should be able to remove most of it. After I had the look I wanted, I went over the entire thing with the clear wax using a lint-free cloth.

Once the base was completely finished, I started working on the boards. I made sure they were clean, dry and smooth, then I applied the stain. I used a foam brush but it transferred a ton of stain so I would recommend just using a regular all-purpose paint brush. I let the stain sit on each side of each board for about twenty minutes before wiping it off and letting it dry 24 hours.

Once all sides of every board were stained, it was time to attach them to the table. A lot of measuring went into this table. I had my husband help with that part since he’s practically a math genius 😛 We drew lines so we could mark where each board would lie and we tested it out several times before we applied wood glue and laid the first board. We did this one board at a time. We would add a little glue, and then lay a board down. After the board was in the right spot, we drilled holes (again, making sure they were even) and then hammered in the nails. When all boards were hammered in, I let the table dry over night and then started the final step: sealing.

To seal the table, I just used a plain, generic brush from Home Depot. I applied a thin coat of finish to the entire table top, making sure not to miss any spots and then I waited 3 hours. Note: I did not use this finish on the base or legs of the table since I had already sealed those areas with the Annie Sloan clear wax.

Before I applied the next coat, I lightly sanded the table with the same fine-grit sanding sponge I used above ⇑ just to make sure the finish was even and then I resealed the entire tabletop.I repeated this step and applied one last 3rd coat of sealant and then waited a full 24 hours before using the table.

This table was so easy and cheap to make. I have seen similar tables for sale for hundreds of dollars and this cost a tiny fraction of that and I transformed it which feels so good in and of itself. Here are a couple more pictures of the final product:

I hope you found this tutorial helpful! Let me know what you think and be sure to share your DIY Farmhouse Coffee Table with me too 🙂

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About Me

Mom, wife, traveler, student, and writer. I love decorating, DIY projects, and transforming not-so-pretty-things into beautiful things. I created this site to share all of the things that are kind of me~Katie!

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